I Think, Therefore I Am
Labels: Change, Drucker, Future, growth, Leadership, management, NAB, Radio, Thinking
"Je pense, donc je suis"
"I think, therefore I am"
In whatever language you speak it, Rene Descartes's famous self-analysis phrase on existence speaks volumes about the shape of radio, the ad industry and media itself.
With the latest ad revenue results for the last 6 months (down 15% to 32% year-to-year, depending on the radio group in the U.S.), the radio industry (and media in general) thinks the market sucks...and therefore it continues to be.
The industry/market seems to be in a vicious self-perpetuating cycle: huge operating/financial debt loads, dramatic downturn in economy, smaller ad budgets, more media competition for fewer $$$, staff cutbacks, weakened local programming, more syndicated/voice-tracked content, missed budget goals, forced unpaid days off, speculation about inevitable radio group bankruptcies, more cutbacks -- leaving remaining staff with work overloads, etc.
Execs are even turning down their contracted bonuses and stock options. When it gets to that, you know things can't be good. With times like this, everybody hurts.
Gosh, all that bad news does wonders for industry self-confidence.
"I think therefore I am"
We are all living in the "aftermath of a go-go economy." As Peter Drucker, father of modern management practices, once said: "Every such era believed there would be no limit to growth. And every one ended in debacle and left behind a massive hang-over."
For the last year or so, this is the massive collective hang-over.
Now that the NAB is looking for a new chairman, Radio could use someone with serious vision mojo to help the industry see out of this morass. Someone who can take a room of radio CEOs and get them to see past this mess they helped create on their own watch.
But whom?
Who is that person?
As the expression says, "Go where there is growth." (as said by Google CEO Eric Schmidt and countless others.)
As another well-known expression goes, this time from Albert Einstein: "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Who can avoid doing the same thing as radio has done before and go where there is growth in order to expect different (better) results?
On the Jointblog, we've already suggested Stuart Smalley...but he is busy trying get to formally accepted into the Senate.
What about the return Eddie Fritts? Doubtful, as Fritts left due to the board's need for change and who now heads The Fritts Group, a D.C.-based lobbying operation that represents Fortune 500 companies on Capitol Hill.
Too bad Bill Clinton is also busy with political conflicts.
Jack Welch? He seems to have time on his hands.
Someone smart who can think different, express change and the new reality...and lead others to growth...
Tony Robbins?
Tom Peters? (if ever there a need to returning searching for excellence, this is that time)
Donny Deutsch
Guy Kawasaki?
Jeff Jaffe?
Chris Anderson?
Walt Mossberg?
Steven Covey?
Seth Godin?
Chris Brogan?
Or, to be really contrarian, how about Jerry Del Colliano?
Who do you nominate for the NAB search committee to replace the resigning David Rehr?
New NAB chief: "I think, therefore I am."
posted by Unknown @ Wednesday, May 06, 2009,
,
A Good Sign for Future CBS Radio Growth: Bringing Dan Mason Back
Labels: brand building, CBS Radio, Change, Dan Mason, growth, Media Trend Watching, Move Forward, Sirius, Stern, Traditional Media
Experience from someone who's been there is a tremendous asset...especially after having a chance to step away, learn and view changes impartially for a fresh perspective.
CBS Radio needed fresh prespective.
CBS Radio needed fresh leadership.
CBS Radio needed "been there" experience from someone who knows how to get "it" done.
And CBS Radio got it.
Bringing Dan Mason back to CBS Radio looks like the right decision. CBS Radio's 7% drop in year-to-year revenue for 2006 was a direct end-product of industry, listener and customer perceptual losses in branding trust.
How?
From bold format changes across the nation (in the spirit of innovation) that failed to connect with new audiences.
From poor decisions handling the entire Howard Stern transition to Sirius satellite radio, messing up millions of listener's morning routines...especially after CBS Radio tired to fill the programming vacuum unsuccessfully.
Worst of all, from breaking "brand trusts" with listeners through perceived manipulation...and not delivering better products; the quality level of radio stations CBS Radio listeners have long expected from CBS Radio.
This change is an important step in rebuilding trust.
Before they brought back the CBS Radio name, they were Infinity Broadcasting -- the company that invested in radio's best talent, best programming, best leadership, best sales teams, the best radio market's. Before Infinity, it was Westinghouse. And before Westinghouse, it was CBS Radio.
CBS Radio has long been radio's crown jewel...with the exception of the last few years. Perhaps it is coincidence that CBS Radio's performance and perceptions changed after 2002 when Dan Mason "retired" to begin consulting. Perhaps not. Perhaps CBS Radio was just a victim of traditional media losing out to new media. Perhaps not.
The fact Dan Mason is coming back is a good sign for returned CBS Radio growth. Dan's been there. He'll debunk myths and move the group forward. He knows what it felt like within Infinity during its "championship" years, its legacy years as radio grew through the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s. And he's largely consulted new media (such as Sirius) through SaboMason since leaving CBS Radio/Infinity in 2002 (while also consulting CBS Radio).
One of Walter Sabo's respected strengths is his passionate viewpoints on creativity for radio, regardless of format. No doubt CBS Radio will benefit from Dan's recent experiences with Sabo.
New ideas and fresh perspective to the table...while also bringing "been there" assets.
Things seem to be looking up for CBS Radio again. And that's a good thing for all of radio.
posted by Unknown @ Tuesday, March 27, 2007,
,
USA Today Gets Makeover, Redesigns Website
Labels: Alexa, brand building, Branding, Buzzmachine, Change, makeover, New Media, redesign, USAToday
USAToday's online version of its newspaper -- USAToday.com -- has been one of my old reliables on the Internet for years. With new websites constantly popping up trying to get popular attention, USAToday.com has been like web comfort food for millions of web users.
Always reliable. Always there. Colorful. Easy to find and digest top mainstream news and pop culture stories. Just the right amount of news to give readers an idea of what's happening today in the USA.
Just like their newsprint version.
That's their brand online, too.
Or, it has been, up until USAToday.com's new "makeover" this weekend.
Change and the Internet seem to go hand-in-hand. Change is inevitable in business. Like yesterday's Jointblog posting, you have to find ways to "move forward". Which is what USAToday.com is doing...moving forward to something they call "networked journalism" (a concepted apparently created along with BuzzMachine's Jeff Jarvis).
According to USAToday, this new design will allow readers to comment on every story on the site, create profiles and blogs, upload photos and interact a lot more.
Here's their official announcement:Big changes are coming to USATODAY.com. Starting this weekend, you'll have more interactive opportunities, see a dramatic new design and find a new way of thinking about the news.
Why the change? It's not like USAToday is also changing their newsprint editions. Their previous online versions were designed to look and feel just like their newspaper. Not anymore. Perhaps that the point, considering the overall newspaper industry's long, slow decline: change to read less like their newspaper and more like online readers.
USATODAY.com's aim is to create a community around the news, one that connects readers to reporting. In its 25 years as "The Nation's Newspaper," USA TODAY has always tried to listen to a variety of readers and understand what's important to them. As the next logical step, we're building the nation's newspaper into the nation's conversation....So, watch the site. Change is coming, and you can be a part of it. (click here to read the rest of the USAToday announcement.)
For years, "The Nation's Newspaper" has served its brand function with excellence in this noisy, distracted mediaworld. It's fast, colorful and easy to read, perfect for commuting on the train or the shuttle flight (or even extended reading on the toilet -- come on now, admit it). And USAToday.com became one of the top websites in the world, built on the same principles: fast, colorful and easy to read. Something you'd want to check out everyday. Sometimes several times a day.
In the past year, web traffic has gone down, according to Alexa (see graph). Which, ultimately, must explain why USAToday is making a change. However, I still don't get the reason for their change. It doesn't make sense. Despite some traffic drop-off, they still are the 525th most-trafficked website in the world!
March 5th update: Looks like the public is giving a collective "thumbs down" as of Day 3 since the changes. USAToday.com has slipped down to a one-week average of 649 most-visited in the world...and down to 856 for yesterday. What will Monday rankings look like when they are updated on Alexa tomorrow?
Now they've done a makeover...and, as a consumer and a media trend watcher, I'm less than pleased with the results so far.
Even on my high-speed broadband, this redesign is clunky and slow-loading for all the graphics and code they've packed onto their pages...including most crucially their homepage.
Is a makeover really going to bump up that traffic ranking when they've just made their site's usage more difficult?
I'm sure there are bugs and fix issues to work out. Change and moving forward is important and needed. And sometimes it is unavoidable. If you must change, protecting the brand still remains critically important. And ideally, the changed user experience will prove better.
Right now, I have to wonder: Is USAToday.com now trying to be a brand they're not?
posted by Unknown @ Sunday, March 04, 2007,
,
